Soriano Signing - Is this true?

[BeerHere]

I heard a rumor that at the time that Hendry signed Soriano, he was basically forced to do so by Zell. Zell was trying to maximize the value of the Cubs pre-sale and told Hendry to sign the most expensive free agent he could find. This is the first that I have ever heard of this but my buddy basically told me that it was common knowledge. Has anyone here heard this before? Sounds like a bunch of crap to me, a Hendry apologist saying that it isn't Hendry's fault that we're stuck with Soriano for so long.

[SouthSideRyan]

I wouldn't say common knowledge, but it's common theory

[CubColtPacer]

From what reporters have said, Hendry did want to sign Soriano but the ownership made sure they got him by adding a couple years to what Hendry was willing to offer. (Bruce Miles has mentioned this several times for example)

 

Reading between the lines on this, my guess is that ownership did have significant input into the contract but they probably still allowed Hendry to pick which one he wanted between Soriano and Carlos Lee for example.

[Guest]

I've heard this from a number of sources. The motivation given is a bit different from how you stated it, but what I've heard is that both the signing and the terms were not in Hendry's control.

[Northside Blues]

There's so much behind the scenes stuff, especially during an ownership change, that it's very hard for someone outside the circle to know really how good of a GM Hendry is. We can criticize him all we want, but we really don't know what the Padres were asking for from us for Gonzalez. We don't know if, say, Adam Dunn or Rafael Furcal didn't really want to sign with the Cubs and would have required more money than his worth. We don't know if Baker put a ton of pressure on Hendry to go out and get a leadoff hitter (ie Juan Pierre), so he did. (Really isn't a GM's job more or less to put his manager in a position to succeed and get the players he feels he can win with?). And regarding Soriano, I really dont think it's all Hendry. It's hard to bitch and groan (at Hendry) about the signing when there are rumors like this.

[Guest]

I wouldn't say common knowledge, but it's common theory

 

 

This.

[Little Slide Rooter]

From the stories I've heard, after the embarrasing 2006, Hendry was instructed to make the team as attractive as possible to potential buyers, thus the massive spending spree of 2006-2007. I don't think that anyone specifically pointed to Soriano and said get him or else, but the problem is that the 06/07 free agent class was a bit of a weak one. As I recall, there were rumors that even after signing Soriano and resigning Ramirez after he opted out, there was talk that they would still pursue Barry Zito, but ultimately ended up with Ted Lilly and Jason Marquis. Gil Meche and yes, Carlos Silva were very much on the radar as well. In retrospect, that fatefull winter could have been a lot worse.

[UMFan83]

I think there's enough smoke out there that it's pretty clear that this wasn't Hendry's decision alone. The real story will likely never be known. I think the guesses so far in this thread sound about right.

[imb]

ZELL PROBABLY BRIBED HENDRY WITH A BOX OF DONUTS

[Backtobanks]

There's so much behind the scenes stuff, especially during an ownership change, that it's very hard for someone outside the circle to know really how good of a GM Hendry is. We can criticize him all we want, but we really don't know what the Padres were asking for from us for Gonzalez. We don't know if, say, Adam Dunn or Rafael Furcal didn't really want to sign with the Cubs and would have required more money than his worth. We don't know if Baker put a ton of pressure on Hendry to go out and get a leadoff hitter (ie Juan Pierre), so he did. (Really isn't a GM's job more or less to put his manager in a position to succeed and get the players he feels he can win with?). And regarding Soriano, I really dont think it's all Hendry. It's hard to bitch and groan (at Hendry) about the signing when there are rumors like this.

 

 

This is what I've been saying all along. It's easy for us to criticize him, but without knowing all of the behind-the-scenes stuff makes you wonder whether he deserves the criticism.

[Eric Clipperton]

This wouldn't actually increase the value of the team, though.

[J.R.]

This wouldn't actually increase the value of the team, though.

 

No, but it did keep the cash rolling in.

 

Drayton McLane has pursued the opposite strategy, pegging Houston's payroll commitments at less than $15 million after this year.